CA1201528A - Audio-visual cartridge and combined audio player and visual viewer - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
An audio-visual cartridge comprising: a flat envelope having spaced opposing walls joined at edges; means forming flat first and second internal compartments between said opposing walls;
first and second planar information carrying discs arranged in coplanar relation within said compartments; said first disc being freely rotatable within said first compartment and carrying a plurality of picture transparencies mounted in a ring for succes-sive viewing on rotation of said first disc; and said second disc being freely rotatable within said second compartment and having sound-recording tracks on a face thereof for reproduction of recorded sound on rotation of said second disc.

Description

~z~

~ ~ The present invention relates to a cartridge comprising visual and audio information carrying discs and to an apparatus for the simultaneous reproduction of the visual and audio informa-tion carried on said information carrying discs.
This application is a divisional application of copend-ing application No. 403,444, filed May 20, 1982.
Various cartridges generally of a rigid material are known which contain an audio information carrying element associa-ted with a film transparency. However, there is a need for a cartridge containing an audio information carrying disc associated with a disc carrying a plurality of film transparencies to permit each transparency or each pair of transparencies to be viewed while the corresponding sound comment is audibly reproduced.
The present invention provides a flat, flexible cartridge which is easy to manufacture and store and in which a disc having transparencies mounted for visual viewing and a sound-recording disc are housed in adjacent and coplanar relation.
The present invention further provides an audio-visual cartridge which is easy to handle and to position in a reproduc-ing apparatus, in particular by children who are especiallyexpected to use it.
The present invention provides a flexible cartridge which is not easily damaged or broken.
The present invention further provides a reproducing apparatus designed for the simultaneous viewing of pictures mounted on a picture disc and reproduction of comments corresponding to the pictures recorded on an audio disc.
The present invention again provided a simple audio-vis-ual reproducing apparatus allowing the easy and reliable position-ing of an audio-visual cartridge according to this invention and, if desired, the correct and proper positioning of a conventional picture disc mounting multiple transparencies.

~ ~ In copending application No. 403,444 there is disclosed and claimed an apparatus for reproducing recordings while a user reads visual information on discs in an audio-visual cartridge, said cartridge comprising a flat envelope containing two discs arranged in coplanar relation, each haviny center portions, the first disc carrying a plurality of picture transparencies having visual information and the second disc having sound recording tracks on a face thereof, the walls of said envelope having open-ings for access to the center portions and information on said discs, said apparatus comprising: a housing having an opening for the insertion of the cartridge edgewise toward an operating plane within said housing; op-tical means carried by said housing for viewing the transparencies through said access openings upon rotation of said first disc; first centering and driving means mounted in said housing adjacent said operating plane and engageable with said first disc through said access openings for rotating said first disc to place said transparencies in succeed-ing angular positions; audio means carried by said housing adja-cent said operating plane and accessible to said second disc through said access openings for reading and audibly reproducing the audio information recorded in said tracks on said second disc upon rotation thereof; second centering and driving means mounted in said housing adjacent said operating plane and engage-able with said second disc through said access openings for rotat-ing said second disc; and cartridge positioning means including a pivotally mounted plate movable from an insertion position in-clined to said operating plane to an operating position in said operating plane and operable by pivotal movement of said plate to guide a cartridge inserted into the apparatus into an operating position in said operating plane with said first and second centering and driving means and into position for access of said optical means and said audio means through said access openings.

According to the present invention there is provided an audio-visual cartridge comprising: a flat envelope having spaced opposing walls joined at edges; means forming flat first and sec-ond internal compartments between said opposing walls; first and second planar information carrying discs arranged in coplanar rela-tion within said compartments; said first disc being freely rotatable within said first compartment and carrying a plurality of picture transparencies mounted in a ring for successive viewing on rotation of said first disc; and said second disc being freely rotatable within said second compartment and having sound-record-ing tracks on a face thereof for reproduction of recorded sound on rotation of said second disc.

In a particular aspect thereof the present invention pro-vides an audio-visual cartridge comprising: a flat envelope for-med by two spaced opposing sheets joined at edges; one of said sheets being flat and the other being shaped to form flat coplanar first and second substantially circular internal compartments bet-ween opposing walls formed by said sheets, said compartments hav-ing central portions arranged on a common longitudinal axis bisect-ing said envelope; first and second planar information carryingdiscs arranged in coplanar relation within said compartments;
said first disc being freely rotatable within said first compart-ment about an axis extending through the central portion thereof and carrying a plurality of picture transparencies mounted in a ring for successive viewing on rotation of said first disc; said second disc being freely rotatable within said second compartment about an axis extending through the central portion thereof and having sound recording tracks on a face thereof for reproduction of sound recordings corresponding, respectively, to said picture transparencies on rotation of said second disc; both discs having center holes and said envelope having- aligned openings centrally located in both walls of both said internal compartments aligned - 2a -~2~
with said disc center holes for access of a centering means for ~ said discs to said disc center holes; aligned viewing windows in both walls of said first compartment aligned with the ring of picture transparencies carried by said first disc for viewing pic-ture transparencies carried thereby; an opening in a wall of said second compartment aligned with the sound recording tracks on said second disc for access of an audio reading means to said tracks;
a positioning slot in said first disc associated with each of said picture transparencies; an opening in a wall of said first compart-ment for access of a positioning member to said positioning slots in said first disc; an indexing means in said first disc at a loca-tion representing the angular location of one said picture trans-parencies, and an indexing opening in one wall of said first compartment for access of an indicating means to said indexing means when aligned with said indexing opening and representing that given picture transparencies are in position for viewing through said viewing windows in said envelope.
The present invention will be further illustrated by way of the accompanying drawings, in which:-Figure 1 is a front view of an audio-visual cartridge according to the invention;
Figure 2 is a sectional view of the cartridge of Figure 1 in the plane of lines 2-2;
Figure 2A is a fragmentary sectional view in the plane of lines 2A-2A;
Figure 3 is an end view of the cartridge of Figure l;
Figure 4 is an exploded front view of an alternative cartridge construction;
Figure 5 is a sectional view of an exemplary embodiment of an apparatus according to the invention in operating conditioni - 2b -i Figure 6 is a sectional view of an exemplary embodiment of an apparatus according to the invention in non-operating condition with a cartridge removed;
Figure 7 is a view along line VII-VII of Figure 5 into the back section of the housing with the front section removed;
Figure 8 is a view along line VIII-VIII of Figure 5 into the front section of the housing with the back section removed;
Figure 9 is a view similar to that of Figure 8 but with an audio-visual cartridge according to Fig-ure 1 positioned in the apparatus;
Figure 10 is a diagram of the electronic cir-cuit for operating the components of the apparatus;
and Figures 11-13 are views of an alternative form of device for synchronizing the rotation of the discs.

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Referring to the drawings, two alternative forms of cartridges constructed according to the invention are shown in Figures 1-3 and 4, respective-ly, and a preferred apparatus for receiving the car-tridges is shown in Figures S-10. In both forms of cartridge, an audio disc and a visual disc are pro-vided, while the apparatus is provided to receive the cartridge and permits viewing of the pictures mounted on the visual disc while simultaneously playing the corresponding sound comments recorded on the audio disc.
Turning first to Figures 1-3, an audio-visual cartridge in accordance with this invention is illus-trated as being comprised of a flat envelope 1 hous-ing two planar discs 2 and 3. A visual disc 2 car-ries picture transparencies mounted in a ring for successive viewing and an audio disc 3 carries audio information recorded in sound tracks on the face of the disc. The visual disc is, for example, a conven-tional disc of the type adapted to be received in a View-Master~ device. This disc has a plurality of windows 4 distributed in a ring about its periphery with each window having a picture transparency mounted therein and a number of driving slots 5 to permit the disc to be rotated about its center in a suitable apparatus in order to successively place each trans-parency or each pair of stereoscopic transparencies in the angular position for being viewed. The audio disc 3 is a thin disc of a flexible or semi-flexible material, such as plastic, having sound recording tracks, preferably grooves, formed on a face thereof.
The envelope 1 is preferably made of a flexible or semi-flexible material and is formed to provide 5'~

two flat compartments ll and 17 hav~ng a circular or semi-circular edge conforming to the edges of the discs for accomodating the discs 2 and 3 respective-ly, which are freely rotatable within the compart-ments. The envelope is, for example, comprised oftwo thin sheets of formable plastic material provid-ing spaced opposing walls with, preferably, one of the sheets formed inwardly to define the curved edges of the compartments and bonded to the other sheet, which is flat. This construction provides an envel-ope with the opposite longitudinal side edges bonded together.
The cartridge lO in the form shown in Figures 1-3 houses two discs which are permanently sealed in the envelope, and in that case the envelope l has its opposite ends 6 and 7 bonded together as well as the longitudinal side edges thereof, as illustrated in Figure 2A. In an alternative embodiment (see Figure 4), the cartridge houses two discs which are change-able and, in this case, the envelope l is formed sothat the ends ~ and 7 are open to allow the insertion of discs 2 and 3 into their respective compartments ll and 17. Small inward protrusions 8 are formed on the inside of the envelope in the compartments in order to retain the discs in their compartments.
Preferably, the internal surface of the walls of the envelope comprises a material having a low friction coefficient in order not to interfere with the rota-tion of the discs, particularly the audio disc 3.
Said material can be advantageously chosen so as to provide a suitable cleaning of the audio disc as it rotates.
At the central portion of its two compartments, the walls of the envelope l have openings 1~ and 18 for the passage of centering means for the discs aligned with the disc center holes; such centering means may also include driving means for the audio disc, which means are part of a reproducing apparatus adapted to receive the cartridge. The envelope also includes windows 13, 14 in both walls of the first compartment housing the picture disc 2 aligned with the ring of transparencies for viewing of stereo-scopic pictures, an off-center arcuate opening 15 aligned with the disc drive slots for allowing the driving means for the picture disc 2 access to the slots 5 in the picture disc 2, as well as an opening 19 aligned with the sound tracks for access of audio reading means to the sound tracks on the audio disc 3.
Advantageously, referring to Figures 1 and 4, the envelope 1 of the cartridge 10 has an element 9 formed as a protrusion thereon located off-set from the longitudinal and transverse axes of the cartridge to provide a non-symmetrical outer surface and adapted to cooperate with means in the reproducing apparatus to limit the introduction of the cartridge to one orientation, thereby to prevent the introduction into the apparatus either in a reversed position or upside down.
Referring next to Figures 5-10, further in keeping with the invention, an apparatus is provided for reproducing individual audio recordings corres-ponding to particular transparencies while a user views the corresponding transparencies. The appara-tus is adapted to receive an audi~-visual cartridge of either type shown in Figures 1-4.
As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the apparatus has a housing 20 with an elongated slot 21 in its upper end wall for the insertion of a cartridge of the type illustrated in Figures 1-4. The housing is shown as formed of a back section 20-1 and a front section 20-

2 joined along a parting line lying in a plane bisect-ing the housing and forming the operating plane of the cartridge. The apparatus within the housing 20 includes optical means for the viewing of picture transparencies carried by the disc 2 of a cartridge received in the housing 20. The optical means com-prise two windows 22 formed in the rear wall of the housing to allow light in and two eye-pieces 23 mounted in the front wall and fitted with lenses to diffuse the light. Within the housing there is a positioning plate 24 for a cartridge to be introduced thro~gh the entry slot 21 which positions the cartridge in the operating plane.
The positioning plate 24 is pivotally mounted on a pivot 2~ located approximately at the vertical mid point of the plate and its lower portion is formed with a cavity 27 to accomodate the lower section of an audio-visual cartridge 10. The plate 24 is pivot-able manually from its normal operating position shown in Figure 5 against the force o~ the return spring 28, holding the plate 24 in its normal posi-tion, to the insertion position of Figure 6.~ Upon insertion of a cartridge, the lower audio disc sec-tion moves downward spaced from the face of the plate24 until it reaches the lower section of the plate.
To insert the cartridge, it must be forcibly pushed through the entry slot 21 such that the forward edge of the cartridge enters the cavity 27 in the plate 24. The cartridge, being flexible, bends and fully enters the cavity 27 in the plate 24 and, when the cartridge is fully inserted, the plate pivots to the position of Figure 5. The plate 24 has a lug 25 arranged to enter an opening 50 provided in the car-tridge as the plate pivots to its operating position 5~

of Figure 6, thereby to assure the correct position-ing thereof within the apparatus.
Mounted in the housing are centering means 29, 33 for both the visual disc and the audio disc which engage the discs as the plate 2q pivots to bring the cartridge into its operating plane. ~he plate 24 carries centering means 29 for the picture disc 2 which enters the center hole of the disc through the access opening 12 in the cartridge. The plate 24 has two openings 31 in registry with the windows 22 when it is in operating position (Figure 5) and also an opening 32 for the passage of centering means 33 for the audio disc 3. The centerinq means 33 is secured to the housing through the bearing mount 34 and en-ters the center hole of the audio disc through theaccess opening 18 in ~he cartridge. The plate 24 is fixed in its cartridge insertion position by exter-nally actuable pawl means 30. In order to introduce an audio-visual cartridge 10 (Figure 1), the pawl 30 is pressed to pivot the plate 24 to the insertion position of Figure 6 and the cartridge may then be inserted into the opening 21.
In accordance with the invention, provision is made for the apparatus to accept not only an audio-visual cartridge 10 but also a simple disc with mount-ed stereoscopic transparencies of the type presently sold for viewing in a View-Master~ device. For this purpose, the apparatus is provided with two movable stop elements 35 pivotally mounted about shaft 36 secured to the housing 20, said stop elements being loaded by springs 37 into a normal position to block the disc from passage into the cavity 27 in the lower portion of the plate 24. The ends of the stop ele-ments 35 engage into openings 59 (Figure 73 provided in the plate 24. The stop elements 35 are located o528 such that, when a disc is introduced through the o~ening 21, it comes to rest onto the stop elements 35 so as to be centered on the axis 29. When a cartridge 10 is introduced through opening 21, by pressing down on the cartridge 10, it causes the stop elements 35 to move away by pivoting the shaft 3~ in the anti-clockwise direction.
In its upper portion, the housing accomodates driving means to place the picture disc 2 in succes-sive angular positions in order to place the picturetransparencies successively in the field of view of the optical means. The driving means include selec-tor means 40 (visible in front view in Figure 8) mounted about an axis 38 and actuable from the out-side o the apparatus. The selector 40 has a lug 39which is engagable with the driving slots S in the disc 2 on counterclockwise movement of the selector means to advance the disc 2 from one set of trans-parencies to the next and is cammed out of the slots 5 on return of the discs by its restore spring 40-1.
In its lower portion, the housing has mounted therein driving means for the audio disc 3 as well as read and reproducing means for the audio information carried on said disc 3. In keeping with this inven-tion, the driving means for the disc 3 is herein shown as an electric motor 41, coupled by an endless belt to a fly-wheel 42 secured on the bearing element 34 carrying the centering means 33 ~or the audio disc.
In carrying out the invention, it is desired to synchronize the reading of the sound track on the audio disc with the operation of the picture disc so thac individual recordings on the audio disc are played while corresponding transparencies are being viewed. One device for achieving this utilizes ~P O~ ~L~/h~3 the circuit of Figure 10 to synchronize the start of rotation of the discs and to prevent rotation of the picture disc while an individual sound com-ment or recording is being played. The read and re-producing means for the audio information recorded onthe disc 3, referring to Figures 7 and 9, preferably utilize a ceramic pick-up head 43 mounted on a sup-port 44 which is slidable along a guide shaft 45 and positions a needle in the spiral groove forming the recording track on the audio disc 3. The pick-up head is caused to advance by the interaction between the needle and the recording groove.
To insure that the pick-up head is in proper position to start reading the recording tracks with no cartridge in the apparatus, a lever 48 under the action of a return spring 51 through a rod 47 tra-verses the pick-up head support 44 to its start posi-tion, shown in Figure 7.
The outer wall of the cavity 27 for the car-tridge in the lower portion of the plate 24 has anopening 52 to permit the pick-up means 43 to access the information recorded on the audio disc 3 of a cartridge 10 when it is positioned in the cavity and in the operating plane. A leg 46 secured to one section of the housing supports the guide shaft 45.
The lever 48 is arranged in the housing so as to actuate a switch 53 controlling the electronic audio reproducing circuitry which is connected to the trans-ducer in the pick-up means 43 when a cartridge is inserted into the apparatus. This audio circuitry is diagrammatically represented in Figure 10 and includes three further switches 54, 55 and 56.
As an audio-video cartridge 10 is inserted and moves to its operating position in the apparatus (Figure 9), the lever 48 is caused to pivot under the action of the lower edge of the cartridge and actu-ate the switch 53 to close. The rod 47 is also shifted to the left so as to permit the pick-up head support 4~ to traverse the recording tracks on the audio disc 3. When the picture selector 40 is actu-ated, it causes the switch 54 to switch ON, thereby to close the feed circuit of the drive motor 41 for the audio disc 3. However, the supply voltage ~A is not applied to the switch 54 until the SCR switch 56 is fired, which is caused to occur when switch 55 is ON. Switch 55 (Figures 5-7~ is, for instance, a beep switch located on the positioning plate 24 so as to be switched to ON by index means (e.g., a hole 58, as shown in Figure 4~ provided on the picture disc 2 to indicate that the first picture or the first pair of pictures is placed in the field of view of the eye-pieces 23. The drive motor 41 is thereby caused to rotate the audio disc 3 only when the first picture or the first pair of pictures is in position to be viewed, thus synchronizing the start of rotation of the discs. With the switches 5q and 55 being con-currently ON, a warning signal is generated , the duration of which is defined by the capacitor 57 and said signal is reproduced by the audio circuit 60, including an amplifier 61 and a loudspeaker 62.
When the audio disc 3 is caused to rotate the transducer of the pick-up means 43, preferably a ceramic phonograph pick-up, applies the detected signals to the input terminals of the audio circuitry 60.
Further, in carrying out the aspect of the invention concerned with synchronizing the reading of the sound track on the audio disc with the oper-ation of the picture disc, the detected signals are also applied to the input of a silence detecting ~2~

circuit 63, having the ~unction of detecting the silences or non-recorded periods in the audio track on the disc 3. When a silence period having, e.g., a duration exceeding three seconds, is detected, the silence detecting circuit 63 produces a signal for driving a transistor switch 64 to OFF, thereby to cut-off the supply feed to the drive motor 41 and the audio circuitry 60. The motor 41 and the audio cir-cuitry 60 are not fed again until the picture selec-tor 40 is actuated again, to make sure that the nextsound comment is detected and reproduced by the audio circuitry 60 only when the next picture or the next pair of pictures is positioned to be viewed. This mechanism repeats at every actuation of the picture selector 40. The arrangement described above thereby ensures the desired coordination between the movement of the discs to synchronize the sound comments re-corded on the audio disc and the pictures carried by the picture disc.
In order to maintain the synchronization, the device also includes means to prevent operation of the picture selector 40 as long as a sound comment is being reproduced by the audio circuitry 600 This is a two state device. In a preferred embodiment, a switch 65 and an electromagnet coil 66 are connected in the feed circuit with the following purpose. As long as the picture selector 40 is in rest position, the switch 65 is OFF and the coil 66 is not fed, thereby to save energy. When the picture selector 40 is actuated during the time a comment is reproduced, that is, as long as the silence detecting circuit 63 has not detected silence between two succeeding com-ments, the switch 65 is closed and thus the coil 66 is fed and moves the adjacent latch (Figure 8) into a notch on the periphery of the picture disc to prevent the picture selector 40 from ~u~ther move-ment. The picture selector 40 is urged into rest position under the action of spring 40-1 without having caused the picture disc to rotate. The syn-chronization between the pictures and the sound com-ments is thereby maintained by using circuit means which have no energy consumption except when the user makes a wrong manuever.
Power to the apparatus is provided by a +6 VDC
power supply which may be battery furnished or recti-fied AC.
As an alternative and preferred device for synchronizing the rotation of the discs, a mechanical device is provided. ~he same means described above to coordinate the start of rotation of the discs is employed. Furthermore, the device provides operation of the picture selector while a sound recording is reproduced. ~eferring to Figures 11-13, the mechan-ical device includes a lever 208 movably mounted on the frame ad~acent to where the picture disc is held in operating position. This is a two state device.
Responsive to rotation of the audio disc, torque is transmitted from the audio disc to pivot the lever 208 from a rest position "A" (Figure 1) to a "B'~ state where the lever can mask the drive slot normally entered by the picture selector 40 and block the entry of the picture selector into driving relation with the picture disc. Thus, when sound comments are being played, the picture selector is prevented from rotating the picture disc; when the audio disc stops rotating, at the end of any recorded comment, the lever 208 is allowed to be urged by the return spring 212 to the rest state "A" unmasking the drive slot~
Both the mechanical device of Figures 11-13 and the electrical device of Figure 10 serve the same purpose of linking the rotation o~ the picture disc to the playing of the recordings on the audio disc to syn-chroni2e the viewing of the transparencies with the playing of the corresponding sound comments or pas-sages from the audio disc.
To position the lever 208, the device includesa plate 201 rotated by axle 200 cooperating with the periphery of the audio disc drive means through pres-sure of a spring 210. During rotation, both moving semicircular parts 202, 203 tend to lock against the periphery of the cup 204, which is thus rotated by friction. Said cup includes a gear 205 meshing with a geared sector 206 rotating around axis 207 and driving the lever 208. When the audio disc drive rotates (Figure 2), the lever 208 is in position "B"
and can either lock the picture disc driving means (selector 40) or be positioned in between lug 39 and off-center drive slots 5 of picture disc 2 so as to disconnect them. When the audio disc drive means are stopped (Figure 1), the return spring 212 moves lever 208 to rest position "A" so as to either unlock selec-tor 40 or reestablish cooperation of lug 39 with slots 5.

Claims (11)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. An audio-visual cartridge comprising:
a flat envelope having spaced opposing walls joined at edges;
means forming flat first and second in-ternal compartments between said opposing walls;
first and second planar information carry-ing discs arranged in coplanar relation within said compartments;
said first disc being freely rotatable within said first compartment and carrying a plural-ity of picture transparencies mounted in a ring for successive viewing on rotation of said first disc;
and said second disc being freely rotatable within said second compartment and having sound-recording tracks on a face thereof for reproduction of recorded sound on rotation of said second disc.

2. A cartridge according to claim 1 wherein said envelope and said second disc are flexible.

3. A cartridge according to claim 1 wherein said envelope is flexible, wherein both discs have center holes and at least one of said discs has an off center drive slot, and said envelope has aligned openings centrally located in both walls of said internal compartments aligned with said disc center holes;
aligned windows in both walls of said first compartment aligned with the ring of picture trans-parencies carried by said first disc;
an opening in a wall of at least one of said internal compartments aligned with disc drive slot; and an opening in a wall of said second com-partment aligned with the sound recording tracks on said second disc.

4. A cartridge according to claim 1 wherein said envelope is flexible, wherein both said discs have center holes and at least one of said discs has an off center drive slot, and said envelope has aligned openings centrally located in both walls of said internal compartments aligned with said disc center holes for access of centering means for said discs;
aligned windows in both walls of said first compartment aligned with the ring of picture trans-parencies carried by said first disc for viewing the picture transparencies carried thereby;
openings in said internal compartments for access of driving means to said discs; and an opening in a wall of said second com-partment aligned with the sound recording tracks on said second disc for access of audio reading means.

5. A cartridge according to claim 1, 2 or 3 including an element on said envelope located to provide a non-symmetrical outer surface and adapted to cooperate with means in reading apparatus receiv-ing said cartridge to limit the introduction of the cartridge to a single orientation.

6. A cartridge according to claim 1 wherein said envelope has open ends and a wall of each com-partment is provided with at least one protrusion to retain a disc in its respective compartment.

7. A cartridge according to claim 1 wherein said flat first and second internal compartments formed by said means have semi-circular edges sub-stantially conforming to said first and second discs respectively, wherein both said discs have center holes and at least one of said discs has an off-center drive slot, and said envelope has openings centrally located in walls of said internal compartments aligned with said center holes;
aligned windows in both walls of said first compartment aligned with the ring of transparencies carried by said first disc;
an openings in a wall of at least one of said compartments aligned with said disc drive slot;
and an opening in a wall of said second com-partment aligned with the sound recording tracks on said second disc.

8. A cartridge according to claim 6 or 7 wherein said envelope is flexible.

9. A cartridge according to claims 1, 3, or 4 wherein said flat envelope is provided by spaced sheets of flexible plastic, said sheets are joined at edges and at least one of said sheets is formed to provide a pair of flat internal compart-ments having curved edges substantially conforming to said first and second discs respectively, and having formed por-tions to retain a disc in its respective compartment.

10. An audio-visual cartridge comprising: a flat envelope formed by two spaced opposing sheets joined at edges; one of said sheets being flat and the other being shaped to form flat coplanar first and second substantially circular internal compart-ments between opposing walls formed by said sheets, said compart-ments having central portions arranged on a common longitudinal axis bisecting said envelope; first and second planar information carrying discs arranged in coplanar relation within said compart-ments; said first disc being freely rotatable within said first compartment about an axis extending through the central portion thereof and carrying a plurality of picture transparencies mounted in a ring for successive viewing on rotation of said first disc;
said second disc being freely rotatable within said second compart-ment about an axis extending through the central portion thereof and having sound recording tracks on a face thereof for reproduc-tion of sound recordings corresponding, respectively, to said pic-ture transparencies on rotation of said second disc; both discs having center holes and said envelope having: aligned openings centrally located in both walls of both said internal compartments aligned with said disc center holes for access of a centering means for said discs to said disc center holes; aligned viewing windows in both walls of said first compartment aligned with the ring of picture transparencies carried by said first disc for viewing picture transparencies carried thereby; an opening in a wall of said second compartment aligned with the sound recording tracks on said second disc for access of an audio reading means to said tracks; a positioning slot in said first disc associated with each of said picture transparencies; an opening in a wall of said first compartment for access of a positioning member to said positioning slots in said first disc; an indexing means in said first disc at a location representing the angular location of one said picture transparencies, and an indexing opening in one wall of said first compartment for access of an indicating means to said indexing means when aligned with said indexing opening and representing that given picture transparencies are in position for viewing through said viewing windows in said envelope.

11. The cartridge according to claim 10, wherein said envelope and said second disc are sufficiently flexible to bend around a corner defined by walls joining at about 170 degrees.